Laskey, 26, will be in the driver's seat of the Monster Mutt Dalmatian car for the Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam, which will be Friday and Saturday, March 1-2, at UTC's McKenzie Arena.

She's not the first woman in the sport, but she still has the desire for the public -- and especially the young girls who watch her -- to know there's no limit to what they can do.

"With a male-dominated sport," Laskey says, "you always have the sense that you not only have to be as good as a man but better because you're representing a minority."

To show her femininity in the testosterone-filled sport, she gives away a handmade hair bow to a young girl in the stands after the freestyle portion of each show.

"I want to show them I may be a girl, but I drive a monster truck," Laskey says.

Born into a motorsports family -- her dad's side was in motocross while her mom's family race late-model stock cars and Sprint cars -- the former Sprint car driver says she couldn't avoid the interest.

And, Laskey says, the "special awareness, reflexes and ability to think on your feet" she learned as a national-champion gymnast have enabled her to think "more abstractly about what the truck's doing" and "how it works."

Monster Jams, presented to more than 4 million fans annually, consist of three basic elements: the pit party, an extra-cost event before the main event in which fans can see the trucks up close and meet the drivers; side-by-side racing, in which the custom-designed, 10,000-pound-plus vehicles compete; and freestyle, in which drivers can do their own thing.

Even in her freestyle time, Laskey said she tries to set herself apart.

"If I see the guys aren't hitting the big jump," she says, "I will hit that first, try to get the biggest air. We're here for the fans, so I'll do whatever I can to be more unique."

Laskey says she feels safe in the trucks, which sit atop 66-inch tires and are capable of speeds of 100 miles per hour.

"There's always [a thought of an injury] in the back of your mind because it's an extreme sport," she says, "but with Monster Jam, it's so safe."